The harmonica is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in nearly every musical genre. There are many types of harmonica, including diatonic, chromatic and tremolo to name a few. A harmonica is played by using the mouth to direct air into and out of a mouthpiece. Unlike other reed instruments, playing the harmonica requires both inhaling and exhaling strongly against resistance.
The harmonica has a plurality of holes along the mouthpiece, each hole having a chamber containing at least one reed which is pre-tuned to an individual pitch. The standard diatonic harmonica is designed to allow a player to play chords and melody in a single key. Because they are only designed to be played in a single key at a time, a player must purchase multiple diatonic harmonica to play in different keys. Some players prefer specially-tuned variants of the diatonic harmonic that is played in what is called a “cross-harp” style that allow the players to play a natural minor, harmonic minor and major scale.
Some players attempt to tune the harmonica itself by making small scratches or filings in one or more reeds. To raise the pitch of a reed, the scratch or file is at the top of the reed near the tip, which will make the reed vibrate faster and thus raise the pitch of the note. To lower the pitch of a reed, the scratch or file is at the top of the reed near the base, which makes the reed vibrate more slowly and thus lowers the pitch of the note. However, if a reed is damaged or is incorrectly modified and produces a pitch that is not desired, the entire reed plate must be replaced so many amateurs do not attempt tuning on their own.
While harmonica appear simple, it takes great skill and practice to play the harmonica well. Beginners are challenged to produce clear and clean notes. Sound waves from a reed in one air chamber cancels out sound waves from another reed, creating a muddy sound. The beginner must learn how to change pitch through embouchure adjustments and learn how to “bend”, a technique unique to the harmonica.
A beginner often produces shrill, metallic sounds in the high register if they produce any sound at all. The beginner must learn how to gently produce these high notes through controlling breath, using lips, jaw, tongue, abdomen and most especially, the throat, to produce a sweet, clear note. Learning to play the harmonica well takes a great deal of practice to acquire the skill level to produce consistently beautiful notes.
While these techniques may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present disclosure as disclosed hereafter.
In the present disclosure, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed and it is contemplated that the claims may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.